Posttraumatische longhernia

Background

Post-traumatic lung herniation due to a pathological defect in the chest wall is rare.

Case description

We present a 73-year-old polytrauma patient who had extensive chest wall trauma after an accident, resulting in traumatic herniation of the lung. The patient was initially treated according to surgical principles for ‘damage control’. The chest wall was then reconstructed with polypropylene mesh.

Conclusion

There is still no consensus on surgical treatment of lung herniation. It may be performed immediately (primary) or after a delay (secondary) and depends on the clinical condition of the patient.

Conflict of interest: none declared. Financial support: none declared.